A Very Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year ...!!!

We wish you a very Happy & Prosperous Chinese New Year in 2014 and welcome the Year of the Horse.

 

 

 

May the Year of Horse be a good year for all of us.......!

 

We wish for Health and Happiness together with Abundance of Wealth too for all of us...!!!

Chinatown Chinese New Year Decorations

As usual, we would visit Chinatown to soak in the Chinese New Year festivities and also take some photos of the decorations.

 

Horses flying in the sky.........

 

Plentiful of gold coins hanging around too.....

 

 We managed to buy some jelly stuff from Taiwan to try and 2 packets of black peanuts too.

 

Visit to Penang - January 2014

Went back to Penang to visit my parents and have a reunion meal with them, and to catch up with my younger sister who was also visiting from Melbourne with her youngest daughter, Eleisha.

Took Dad to eat his favourite Chicken Curry, Inche Kabin Chicken and Lobak at a Hainanese Restaurant.

 

We also have a small Yu Sheng with him the following day, he enjoyed it.....!

 

Took Dad to see the movie, 47 Ronin . He loves action packed movies.

Dad in front of Gurney Plaza with Chinese New Year decorations.

 

Lai Meng presented Dad with a calligraphy writing that she wrote for him for Chinese New Year celebration.

 

Singapore School of Calligraphy Convention 2014

My dear wife participated in the Singapore School of Calligraphy Convention held on Sunday 12 January 2014.

 

 



Lai Meng with her Teacher.

Lai Meng with her friends cum classmates.

Congratulations and keep up the good work....!!!

My Photos Submission for Basic Photography Class

At the end of my Basic Photography Class that I attended in Dec 2013, I have to submit  6 photos for assessment in order to pass the class.

So far, no news from the instructor yet on my grading of these photos; at least an Overall Pass is required but Passing with Distinction would be ideal.....!

 

 

  The above 2 photos were taken in Botanical Garden during the outdoor class.

This photo was taken outside Tangs Departmental Store, Christmas decorations.

 

This is a close-up of one of the many colourful Hibiscus flowers in my garden.

 

This photo is on the zooming effect on a Transformer toy, taken in front of my garden.

 

 

 This photo was taken when I first took my Canon DSLR camera for a shoot at the Lantern Festival in Clarke Quay, about 2 years ago.

 

Reflections of Year 2013

 Welcome to a New Year in 2014..!!!

What a year and here are some highlights in 2013.

Jason graduated with a Diploma in Human Resource with Psychology from Singapore Polytechnic in May.

The family celebrated his graduation by taking a trip to Japan and we thoroughly enjoyed it as we have no been having such an overseas holiday for a few years due to his studies.

Jason was enlisted and underwent his training in Pulau Tekong like any Singaporean sons and eventually graduated from his Basic Military Training (BMT) in October.

Jason was trained for his vocation as Aviation Materials Specials (AMS) , ie store man cum logistic personnel, and assigned to a F15 jet fighter squadron in Paya Lebar Air Base.

Lai Meng was awarded a Consolation Prize in the Open Category in the Chinese Calligraphy Chinese New Year 2013 competition in Feb.

 

I have been visiting my parents every quarter in Penang and will continue to do so in the New Year.

I over exerted myself re-turfing the garden lawn grass and aggravated it further when I started to paint the car porch and the front of the house early in the year and only realised that it was more than a sprained muscle in my lower back, sometime in Apr.

I have a recurrence of a mild slipped disc and have to undergo some physiotherapy besides taking some anti-inflammation medication. I was in pain for a few months, buttock, hamstring , calf and feet could go numb when the nerve was pinched.

I still can get some pain if I walk or stand for too long but this is much more tolerable than before and my Dr told me that it could take at least 1 year+ to get a full recovery so I need to be very cautious of my condition.

Jack, our Beagle dog, passed away in Aug after being sick from cancer of his spleen.

He was 15 years+ old and have lived longer than an average age of 12 years expected of a dog. We missed him a lot!

To round off the year 2013, I joined the Photography Society of Singapore and stared to attend their classes in Dec.

I completed the first module and here is one of the photos that I took during the class outing in Botanic Garden.

So what are my new year resolutions..?

Last year, I wanted to resume my swimming and do more exercises for better health but due to my mild slipped disc in Apr, I did not manage to achieve it as I ended up in a recovery mode instead and the exercise done was mainly to help my lower back.

My 2014 resolutions are :
- exercise more to stay healthy
- complete the 3 basic modules in Digital Photography, at least
- travel overseas twice besides my regular trips to visit my parents in Penang

So I look forward to another exciting year in 2014 and I hope you do too.....!

Be Happy and Healthy...... take care...!